Build a DAQ system for about $30

Arduino
is an open-source hardware microcontroller with its own development
environment. The latest board, the Arduino Uno
costs under $30 from a variety of vendors.
Hobbyists have developed most of the Arduino applications to date,
but things may be changing. With six 12-bit ADCs, 14 DIO (digital
input/output) pins--6 of which can perform PWM output--simple serial
communications over USB, and low price tag, Arduino is showing up in
professional applications.

Free LabView drivers let you use the Arduino hardware as a data-acquisition system.

Angstrom Designs
has recently released a free driver that turns the Arduino into data
acquisition hardware. The LArVa (LabView Arduino) driver features
automatic firmware upload, on-board data averaging, and variable
communication rates in addition to accessing the Arduino ADCs, PWM
(pulse-width modulation) and DIO pins. The figure shows the
LabView user interface. Click here to download an image of the
LabView graphical code.

The free LArVa sample Simple Graph
Application installer, available at
www.angstromdesigns.com/larva/download,
includes the driver, LabView source code, an executable file, and
support files. You can use the LabView source code as a starting
point for all sorts of projects, including data acquisition,
temperature monitoring and control, PWM motion control, and much
more. To get users started, Angstrom Designs has also provided
application notes on voltage and temperature data acquisition
(www.angstromdesigns.com/larva/application-notes).

With a 16 MHz, 8-bit, Atmel microcontroller at
it's core, Arduino isn't right for high-end test-and-measurement
applications. With solid features and an affordable price, however,
it meets the needs of many projects. It's too soon to tell, but
Arduino may mark the introduction of open source hardware into
professional test and measurement.